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Introduction

The ‘All-Night Vigil’ is perhaps the most recent of the musical genres of the Orthodox divine service. Its history can be traced back little more than a hundred years (although individual canticles had been set to music many times before). It was Tchaikovsky who introduced the ‘Vigil’ as a choral cycle in 1881, and the form which he created became a model for composers of the following generations—for example Kastalsky, Nikolsky, Ippolitov-Ivanov and Panchenko. Undoubtably the best-known setting of the ‘Vigil’ is that by Rachmaninov, composed in 1915. An immediate precursor of that masterpiece is Grechaninov’s.

Grechaninov’s Vsenoshchnoye bdeniye was written during 1912 and first performed in Moscow on 18 November 1912 by the famous Synod Choir under the direction of Nikolay Golovanov. The premiere was not wholly successful. It scored only a moderate success and did not find a home for itself in the repertoire of the Synod Choir (apart from the premiere, the chorus sang it only once in December that year), nor was it included in the repertoires of other famous choirs of the pre-Revolutionary period. Censorship prevented its performance in the Soviet period, and even now Russian choirs do not sing it. Nevertheless this is undoubtedly vivid, bold music intended for concert as well as liturgical performance.

The ‘Vigil’ is written on a grand scale in a style that is essentially epic. The central movements in the cycle are psalms of ‘glorification’: Blagoslovi, dushe moya (Bless the Lord, O my soul), Blazhen muzh (Blessed is the man) for double chorus, and the monumental and the heroic-sounding Hvalite imia Ghospodne (Praise the name of the Lord). The cycle concludes with a remarkably colourful ‘bell’ finale to the text of the canticle glorifying the mother of God, Vzbrannoy voyevode (To thee, victorious leader). Grechaninov does not quote literally a single traditional chant, but freely combines elements (popevki) of them. Thus, in Bless the Lord, O my soul we hear the intonations of Greek chant; in Blessed is the man we hear chant from the Kiev Pechersky Monastery; in Ot yunosti moyeya (From my youth) and Voskreseniye Hristovo videvshe (Having beheld the resurrection of Christ), elements of znamennïy chant.

Grechaninov’s ‘Vigil’ is exclusively and absolutely major in tone with barely any departures into minor keys. Even the major keys are ‘noble’, brilliant ones: E major, B major, F sharp major, C sharp major. For the most part the texture is rich and intensive with numerous divisi in the choral parts, often for two choruses. The work, of course, relied on the vocal abilities of the Synod Choir with its resonant boy sopranos and low basses. As we have remarked already, the character of the work inclines us to suppose that it was intended for concert performance, but we cannot rule out the fact that in the course of composition the composer imagined hearing his ‘All-Night Vigil’ sung during the service at the ancient Uspensky Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, for it was there that the Synod Choir sang for the services on Sundays and festival days. In any case, Grechaninov’s ‘Vigil’ has a vividly expressed ‘heroic’ and ‘archaic’ colouring. A certain contrast is provided by the chant Bogoroditse Devo (Rejoice, O virgin), written in the form of a lyrical miniature with a soft, swaying motion (the form here recalls the corresponding part of Rachmaninov’s setting), and also by the tropars for the Resurrection, Blagosloven yesi, Ghospodi (Blessed art thou, O Lord). This section imitates the so-called ‘ordinary’ chant, and includes a particularly expressive and beautiful alternation of the quartet of children’s voices (sopranos and altos) in the stanzas, with tutti in the pripevki (refrains); the deliberate simplicity of the harmony is elegantly set off against cadences in the folk manner. The grandest part of the cycle is the Slava v vïshnih Bogu (Glory be to God), where choral recitative alternates with solo fragments in the style of liturgical reading. The movement towards the climax at the words ‘vo svete Tvoyem uzrim svet’ (In thy light shall we see light) is constructed in a remarkable way; the melody of the old Russian fita (‘jubilation’) resounds triumphantly. Of great interest and novelty in the context of Russian sacred music of the early twentieth century are parts of the Hvalite imia Ghospodne and Vzbrannoy voyevode, in which the imitation of bells and the resonance so typical of the entire work are expressed with a grandiose sweep (the Hvalite also stands out for its characteristic use of fourths in the melody and harmony that recalls the style of Borodin, especially the choruses in the Prologue to Prince Igor).

It is interesting to compare Grechaninov’s ‘All-Night Vigil’ with Rachmaninov’s, written three years later and performed in Moscow by the same Synod Choir. In terms of the overall form of the cycle the artistic treatment of the two works is quite different. We do not know whether Rachmaninov heard Grechaninov’s setting. Most likely he may have glanced through the score, and, of course, he knew other sacred works by Grechaninov, especially those in the repertoire of the Synod Choir. Grechaninov, though, was present at one of the early performances of Rachmaninov’s ‘Vigil’, and summed up the style with the words ‘true church music’. In any case, these two ‘All-Night Vigils’, alongside two more large-scale choral works for the Orthodox Church, Strastnaya Sed’mitsa by Grechaninov (1912) and the Bratskoye pominoveniye (Prayer in memory of our dead brothers) by Kastalsky (1916) are, as it were, a summing-up of the brilliant development of Russian church music from the 1880s to Russia’s watershed year, 1917.

Recordings

'Numerous delights. The performance by the Holst Singers is stunningly good. This serene, delectable music is irresistible and so is its performance' ...'Really something of a triumph' (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)» More

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Blessed art thou, O Lord.
O Lord my God,
thou art become exceeding glorious.
Blessed art thou, O Lord.
The waters stand in the hills.
Wonderful are thy works, O Lord.
The waters run among the hills.
In wisdom hast thou made them all.
Glory to thee, O Lord, creator of all.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Alleluia.
And the way of the ungodly shall perish. Alleluia.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice unto him with trembling. Alleluia.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.
Alleluia.
Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God.
Alleluia.
And thy blessing is upon thy people.
Alleluia.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Alleluia.
Now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Amen. Alleluia.

Gladsome light of the holy glory
of the Father immortal, heavenly,
holy, blessed Jesus Christ!
Now that we have come to the setting of the sun,
and behold the evening light,
we hymn thee, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Lord.
Meet is it that all times thou
shouldest be magnified by voices propitious;
O Son of God, who bestowest life,
for which cause all the world doth glorify thee.

Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
O ye servants of the Lord. Alleluia.
Blessed be the Lord out of Sion,
who dwelleth at Jerusalem. Alleluia.
O confess ye unto the Lord, for he is gracious,
for his mercy endureth for ever. Alleluia.
O confess ye unto the God of Heaven,
for his mercy endureth for ever. Alleluia.

Blessed art thou, O Lord,
teach me thy statutes.
The assembly of the Angels was amazed
when they beheld thee numbered among the dead,
yet thee, thyself, O saviour,
destroying the power of death,
and with thee raising up Adam
and releasing all from Hades.
Blessed art thou, O Lord,
teach me thy statutes.
Wherefore do ye mingle the anointing oil
with tears of pity, O ye disciples?
The radiant Angel within the sepulchre
cried unto the myrrh-bearing women:
ôBehold the grave, and understand:
the Saviour is risen from the tomb.ö
Blessed art thou, O Lord,
teach me thy statutes.
Early in the morning the myrrh-bearing women
came running, lamenting unto thy tomb;
but an Angel came toward them, saying:
ôThe time for lamentation is passed, weep not,
but announce the resurrection to the apostles.ö
Blessed art thou, O Lord,
teach me thy statutes.
The myrrh-bearing women mourned
as they drew near thy tomb,
bearing the anointing oil, O saviour.
But the angel spoke unto them saying:
ôWhy number ye the living among the dead?
In that he is God he is risen from the grave!ö
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
We worship the Father and his Son
and the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Trinity Consubstantial,
crying out with the Seraphim:
ôHoly, Holy, Holy art thou, O Lord!ö
Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
In that thou didst bear the giver of life,
O virgin, thou didst redeem Adam from sin,
and didst give to Eve joy in place of sadness;
and them that had fallen from life,
He hath restored them thereto,
He the incarnate God and man.
Alleluia. Glory to thee, O God!

From my youth
many passions have fought against me:
but do thou protect me and save me,
O my saviour.
You who hate Sion
shall be put to shame by the Lord:
like grass in the fire you shall be withered up.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Every soul is enlightened by the Holy Spirit,
and is exalted in purity,
illumined by the Triune Unity
in a sacred mystery.

Having beheld the resurrection of Christ,
let us bow down before the Holy Lord Jesus,
the only sinless one.
We bow down before thy cross, O Christ,
and laud and glorify thy holy resurrection:
for thou art our God,
besides thee we know none,
we call upon thy name.
O come all ye faithful, let us bow down
before Christĺs holy resurrection:
for lo, through the cross
is joy come into all the world;
ever blessing the Lord,
let us sing his resurrection;
for in that he endured the crucifixion
He hath destroyed death by death.

Glory be to God in the highest
and on earth peace,
goodwill among men.
We praise thee, we bless thee,
we bow down before thee, we glorify thee,
we give thanks to thee, for thy great glory.
O Lord, thou heavenly King,
God the Father almighty.
O Lord, thou only begotten Son,
Jesus Christ, and thou Holy Spirit.
O Lord God, thou Lamb of God,
Son of the Father
that takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
accept our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For thou only art holy,
thou only art the Lord,
O Jesus Christ, unto the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Every day will I bless thee
and I will praise thy Name
for ever, yea for ever and ever.
Vouchsafe, O Lord,
that this day we may be kept without sin.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, God
of our fathers, and praised
and glorified is thy name for ever. Amen.
Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
according as we have hoped in thee.
Blessed art thou, O Lord,
teach me thy statutes.
O Lord, a refuge has thou been unto us
from generation unto generation.
I said:
Lord have mercy on me,
heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.
O Lord, unto thee have I fled;
teach me to do thy will,
for thou art my God,
for with thee is the fountain of life.
In thy light shall we see light.
O continue thy mercy
unto those that know thee.
O Holy God, Holy mighty,
Holy immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Holy immortal, have mercy on us.
O Holy God, Holy mighty,
Holy immortal, have mercy on us.

To thee, victorious leader,
in that we are delivered from evil,
as thy servants, we offer unto thee the song
of thanks and victory, O Mother of God;
but inasmuch as
thou hast power invincible,
from all calamity deliver us,
that we may cry unto thee:
Hail, O ever-virgin bride.